BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Stock Price Up 5.8%

Shares of BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) shot up 5.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $25.33 and last traded at $25.10. 56,392 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 381,103 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of BioLife Solutions from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Craig Hallum increased their price target on shares of BioLife Solutions from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Northland Securities upped their target price on shares of BioLife Solutions from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BioLife Solutions has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.20.

BioLife Solutions Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.90 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.86.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $28.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.80 million. BioLife Solutions had a negative return on equity of 10.75% and a negative net margin of 59.88%. As a group, research analysts predict that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Sarah Aebersold sold 3,000 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.03, for a total value of $63,090.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,297,193.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other BioLife Solutions news, CRO Garrie Richardson sold 3,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.12, for a total value of $77,118.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 114,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,883,097.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Sarah Aebersold sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.03, for a total transaction of $63,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,297,193.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,944 shares of company stock valued at $229,709. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BioLife Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BLFS. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in BioLife Solutions during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions in the first quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $122,000. Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.24% of the company’s stock.

About BioLife Solutions

BioLife Solutions, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets bioproduction tools and services for the cell and gene therapy (CGT) industry in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. The company's products are used in the basic and applied research, and commercial manufacturing of biologic-based therapies.